McAfee Knob Virginia

The weather reports were calling for rain in the Wytheville area, by noon. I wanted to hike in Grayson Highlands State Park, but there were scattered clouds in that direction and earlier rain forecasted. I had learned of an interesting hike further north to McAfee Knob Virginia (Thank you Christina). The skies were blue in that direction and rain wasn’t predicted until 2-3 pm.

I decided to take interstate 81 Northeast to save time. As you get close to the base of the mountain, there is a park-n-ride lot for commuters traveling into Roanoke, VA during the week. On the weekends, the lot is used to shuttle hikers to the trailhead at McAfee Knob up the mountain. I didn’t realize this until I got to the parking lot at the trail head. The lot was completely full and a shuttle bus was dropping people off.

A few hundred feet down the hill is a parking lot for the forest service. There was a sign that read, “Parking on Shoulder Only”. I pulled in behind the one car parked there. I assumed most hikers didn’t want to add another 300 feet to their hike.

Hut for Through Hikers on the AT

There’s one main trail from the parking lot, The McAfee Knob Trail via the Appalachian Trail. This is a moderate trail with few fewer rocks than most on the trail. The trail is well maintained and there are steps in locations where it is steeper. It had rained the day before and there were places where water collected on the trail.

The trail starts off with a short uphill climb and then a long downhill slope. The downhills at the beginning of a hike are always deceiving. At the moment, you’re thinking this trail is pretty easy and you know on the way back, after hiking 6 miles, you’ll need to walk up hill.

On the way, there are a couple huts. This trail intersects with the Appalachian Trail (AT). The huts are there for those overnighting on the trail. The through hikers are obvious on the trail with their big packs and and actual hiking boots.

On the edge

I spoke to one through hiker that actually had a dog with her. It’s hard enough to meet all your own needs on the trail let alone adding in the needs of a dog. Another woman I met is doing the AT in sections. She was from Virginia and drives to the AT and hikes that section and then returns to her car. She’s actually hiking the trail twice.

I carry my camera on my chest to have it ready to take a photo. This generates a lot of comments from people on the trail. Today, I brought my tripod and three lens. The top of the mountain was supposed to provide beautiful views of the valley below.

Near the top, a woman coming back from the top said to me, “be sure to go out on the ledge and get someone to take a photo of you.” It wasn’t clear what she was talking about until I got to the top. The rock was covered with people taking turns to go out on the ledge. Others were deciding if they wanted to even get anywhere near the ledge. Everyone was asking each other to take a photo of them. There was even a park ranger at the top keeping order and yes taking pictures of people on the edge.

A couple asked if I would take their picture with an iPhone and I offered to to take a picture with my camera. This generated a lot of other requests to take pictures for other people. I’ve included some of the photos below. I said to the park ranger that I should start a business of taking photos on the rock. He laughed and said he should supplement his income as well.

The view was spectacular. I spent an hour taking photos of people on the edge as well as photos of the valley. I almost forgot to take an shots of the valley below. I was so caught up in photographing people standing on the edge.

It was time to return. The return trip was mostly downhill and I was surprised, given the rain forecast, how many people were still on their way up the mountain. I definitely felt that down hill at the beginning, which was now an up hill.

As you hike, you pass the same people several times. Initially, very little is said, but by the end of a hike, people are more open and share more about their journeys. At some point on a trail people begin to open u

Virginia Is For Lovers, Family’s, and Friends

It was fun capturing all these people sitting on the edge of McAfee Knob. Convincing each other that it was OK to come out on the edge or refusing to get any closer.

Planet Fitness

I drove towards Salem, VA and pulled into a Starbucks for a coffee, sent a few messages and made a few phone calls. There was a Planet Fitness down the street and I decided to take a shower. It felt so good to have a warm shower after a hike. As I was leaving, I asked the guy at the front desk about the massage machine. He was very enthusiastic and told me they would be closing in 40 minutes. The message machine was usually for 15 minutes max, but he said he could set to run until they closed. I told him I’d try 20 minutes. The machine wasn’t the same as a masseuse or massage therapist. It was seemed to be effective on the cervical spine and the gluteal muscles. I came out and told him, “that was really nice.” He then convinced me to try the hyromassage machine. He said he liked this machine so much better. I have to agree. This was very effective on the hamstrings, lumbar and cervical spine as well as my calves.

Mama Maria’s

I left planet fitness clean, and very relaxed. I then searched for a local restaurant and found Mama Maria’s .1 miles away. I asked if they had spaghetti. The owner laughed and said, “What Italian restaurant doesn’t server spaghetti.” I told him that I’ve actually been to Italian restaurants that don’t server spaghetti.

Mama Maria’s is the real deal. The family came from Sicily, Italy a generation ago. Once again, I didn’t expect to find such an authentic Italian restaurant surrounded by all the waffle houses, fried chicken, and burger restaurants.

The waiter’s name was Franco and he told me he was from Itally. I told him I had been to various places in Italy and had lived in Switzerland for 18 years. This was the beginning of many conversation throughout the evening. He had a friend in Bern, Switzerland and told me he wanted to move to Switzerland to give his daughter an opportunity to experience European culture and get a good education. Franco’s wife is a Montessori School teacher locally. He told me he had been researching Montessori Schools in the Bern area. Long story short, the name of a friend in Switzerland came up. Kelly Fischer is an American that taught Montessori in Bern for years and is now a very accomplished artist around the world. We exchanged numbers and I told him I may visit him in Switzerland one day.

Cracker Barrel

I drove back to Cracker Barrel in Wytheville, VA. It was close to 11:00pm and unlike other times when there were many campers in the parking lot, the lot was almost empty. It took me 20 minutes to setup the car.

The weather was changing and it would be getting colder.